Former 'Glee' Actor Mark Salling Found Dead At 35
LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork/CBSNews/AP) – Former "Glee" actor Mark Salling has died of an apparent suicide at the age of 35, just weeks before he was scheduled to be sentenced on child pornography charges.
Salling's lawyer, Michael J. Proctor, confirmed the actor died Tuesday.
"Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment," Proctor said in a statement.
He did not disclose the cause of death.
The Los Angeles Police Department told CBS News officers responded to call of a body discovered in Sunland on Tuesday morning. A department spokesperson said the cause of death has not been determined but no foul play is suspected.
A law enforcement official not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press that Salling was found hanging in a riverbed area in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles. The official said the actor's death is being investigated as a suicide.
Salling pleaded guilty in December after authorities said a search of his computer found more than 50,000 images of child porn. He was scheduled to be sentenced March 7, and prosecutors planned to ask a judge to send him to prison for four to seven years.
The actor played bad-boy Noah "Puck" Puckerman on the long-running Fox series.
Salling had appeared in only a handful of projects before his breakout role in the popular musical comedy about students in a high school glee club and their circle of family and friends. It aired from 2009-15.
Earlier credits included 1996's "Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering," a 1999 guest role on the Chuck Norris series "Walker, Texas Ranger" and a part in the 2014 TV movie "Rocky Road."
A singer-songwriter as well as actor, he released two albums: "Smoke Signals" in 2008 and "Pipe Dreams" in 2010.
Following "Pipe Dreams'," release, Salling told The Associated Press he had been a singer-songwriter long before he became an actor.
"I put out a record before. It went triple cardboard," he joked. "I was very excited about selling 125 units for that but you know this is something I've been doing my whole life. It's not something that I just decided to randomly do now. This is not the first. It won't be the last. And I hope people enjoy it and have something to look forward to for the next round."
He said he chose the album's songs from 50 to 60 he had compiled over several years.
Salling's character on "Glee" was a member of the school's football team who ends up joining the glee club. One of his character's friends was another jock-turned-singer, Finn Hudson, who was played by Cory Monteith.
Monteith died in 2013 from a toxic mix of alcohol and heroin, according to a coroner's finding.
Salling was born on Aug. 17, 1982, and grew up in Dallas. His survivors include his parents and a brother.
"The Salling family appreciates the support they have been receiving and asks for their privacy to be respected," Proctor said.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)